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Fifteen Years Old in a CT Final: Zebrowski and Lindblad Set the Rio Pro Women's Stage
Tya Zebrowski — 15, a rookie, never in a Championship Tour final before today — faces Sawyer Lindblad at Praia de Itaúna in what is the most unlikely women's final the VIVO Rio Pro has ever produced. Conditions are forecast clean. The question now is who converts Saquarema's winter swell into history.
By ZealZag TeamRacing UTMB as a Foreign Athlete: The Practical Logistics of Arriving in Chamonix
Thousands of international athletes race the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc every August, and the non-athletic logistics — accommodation, gear registration, jet lag, drop bags, crew access across three countries — are as demanding as the training. A practical guide to getting to the start line organised.
By ZealZag TeamClimbing Shoes for the Outdoor Transition: What Changes When You Leave the Gym
The gym teaches footwork habits that transfer outdoors, but your climbing shoes may not. Rock type, closure system, rubber compound, and downturn all behave differently on real stone — and the choices that make sense on a gym board may not on limestone slabs or granite friction.
By ZealZag TeamJeffreys Bay: How a South African Pointbreak Became Surfing's Holy Grail
J-Bay's right-hand point at Supertubes is the wave every serious surfer has referenced in conversation, even if they've never been. How the Eastern Cape town became part of surfing mythology, what the wave actually delivers, and what the Championship Tour's annual return says about the sport's geography.
By ZealZag TeamRide Lenzerheide's Downhill: Following the UCI World Cup Track
The UCI DH World Cup course at Bike Kingdom Lenzerheide is open to lift-access riders between race weekends. A practical guide to riding the track, its three sections, getting there from Zurich, and planning your post-World Cup visit.
By ZealZag TeamIles Wins Lenzerheide DHI Back-to-Back; Newkirk Makes US History
Finn Iles ran 2:46.348 to win a second consecutive UCI DH World Cup at Bike Kingdom, taking a 41-point overall lead. Anna Newkirk posted 3:12.917 for her debut World Cup victory — the first American woman to win an elite DH in 23 years.
By ZealZag TeamWestern States 100: Four Days Out, Heat Strategy Becomes the Race
Four days from the 53rd Western States 100, the heat strategy conversation has taken over race week — 92°F canyon forecast holding, sauna protocols entering their final week, and the contender field arriving in Olympic Valley.
By ZealZag TeamRunning the Western States 100 Trail: Olympic Valley to Auburn
The 100 miles from Olympic Valley to Auburn traces the oldest 100-mile footrace course in North America — through Sierra Nevada high country, across the American River canyon, and onto the finish-line track in Auburn. A practical destination guide for runners who want to run the route.
By ZealZag TeamOlympic Valley's Race Weekend: Broken Arrow Records Fall as Western States Week Begins
Philemon Kiriago and Mădălina Florea shattered Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k course records at Palisades Tahoe last weekend — and today the same valley fills again as Western States 100 runners arrive for mandatory check-in, four days before the deepest 100-mile field in the race's history.
By ZealZag TeamVIVO Rio Pro 2026 Mid-Event: The Brazilian Storm Returns at Itaúna
The 2026 VIVO Rio Pro reaches the Round of 16 at Saquarema — Brazilian fans are in full voice on the Itaúna sand, Ferreira holds the CT lead, and the swell window has delivered the kind of right-hander conditions this venue was built for.
By ZealZag TeamSurfing Florianópolis: Brazil's Southern Wave and Santa Catarina's Surf Coast
Florianópolis sits 800 kilometres south of Saquarema on the same Atlantic swell window — with more consistent beach breaks, colder water, a deeper local surf culture, and none of the WSL event traffic. The complete guide to surfing Floripa.
By ZealZag TeamKMV du Mont-Blanc 2026: A Thousand Metres of Brévent in Under 35 Minutes
Two days from the KMV du Mont-Blanc — the vertical kilometer that opens Chamonix's Marathon du Mont-Blanc weekend. 3.8 kilometres, 1,000 metres of climb on the Brévent's north flank, and a startlist that brings the skyrunning world to the alpine north face.
By ZealZag TeamZebrowski vs Lindblad: The Rookie Women's Final That Reshapes WSL 2026
The VIVO Rio Pro women's final is set: Tya Zebrowski (France, 15) against Sawyer Lindblad (USA) — two surfers in their first or second CT seasons, contesting a final that neither Carissa Moore nor Caitlin Simmers nor Caroline Marks reached. Finals Day next call is 6:45 AM BRT on June 24.
By ZealZag TeamThe Mountains That Made the Giro: Italy's Greatest Race and Its Altitude Obsession
The Giro d'Italia was founded in 1909 and has spent much of the 115 years since testing riders against Italy's most hostile high-altitude terrain. The Stelvio, the Mortirolo, the Zoncolan — these are not just climbs on a race route. They are the reason the Giro is what it is, and why it occupies a different place in cycling's imagination than any other race.
By ZealZag TeamTwelve Days to Barcelona: Tour de France 2026 Contender Form After Tour de Suisse
Twelve days from the 2026 Tour de France Grand Départ in Barcelona, the contender picture has clarified — Pogačar dominant out of Tour de Suisse, Vingegaard's Critérium signals, Roglič's late-season build, and the team selection window opening this week.
By ZealZag TeamIRONMAN France Nice 2026: Mediterranean Heat, Mountain Bike, Promenade Finish
Five days from IRONMAN France Nice — the 226km Mediterranean triathlon that climbs into the Côte d'Azur backcountry on the bike and finishes on the Promenade des Anglais. A race preview, the contender field, and what the heat means for the run.
By ZealZag TeamRacing in Heat: How to Build Heat Tolerance Before Your Hot-Condition Triathlon
Heat is one of the most reliable performance limiters in triathlon — not a variable you manage on the day, but a physiological challenge that requires preparation in the weeks before a hot race. The adaptations from deliberate heat acclimatization are well-established and accessible to athletes at every level. This is what the process involves and what to expect from it.
By ZealZag TeamKitesurfing the Cyclades: Mykonos, Paros, and the Meltemi Corridor
The Meltemi wind that drove the GKA Big Air World Cup in Mykonos runs across the Aegean from June through August with a reliability that has made the Cyclades the destination of choice for kiteboarders from across Europe and beyond. A practical guide to riding it.
By ZealZag TeamMykonos Writes GKA History: Big Air World Titles Decided on the Meltemi
The Capital.com GKA Big Air Kite World Cup Greece 2026 just concluded on Mykonos — the island's first kite competition, the season's title-deciding finale, and the highest prize purse in Big Air history. Jamie Overbeek and Alessa Sophia Mensch were the names on the lead-in scoreboard heading into the final day.
By ZealZag TeamThe Rio Coast Road Trip: Surfing Beyond Saquarema from Maricá to Búzios
The 180-kilometre stretch of Atlantic coast east of Rio de Janeiro holds nine surf breaks, two national parks, and one of the most consistent winter swells in South America — all accessible from a single base in the Região dos Lagos.
By ZealZag TeamSaquarema Finals Day: Rookie Wave, Brazilian Decider, and the Heats That Define 2026
The VIVO Rio Pro calls Finals Day at Praia de Itaúna — Tya Zebrowski and Nadia Erostarbe guarantee a rookie women's finalist, Yago Dora lines up against Miguel Pupo in an all-Brazilian men's semifinal, and the Championship Tour's season storyline sharpens with every heat.
By ZealZag TeamFlying with a Kite Quiver: What the Airlines Want, What to Bring, and What to Rent
A full kite travel quiver — three kites, two boards, a bar, lines, a pump, and a harness — fills most of a hatchback. At an airport check-in desk it becomes a conversation about oversize sporting equipment fees that you should have already understood before you arrived. Kitesurfing is one of the more logistically demanding destination sports to travel for. Here is what the process actually involves.
By ZealZag TeamThe First 9a: Wolfgang Güllich, Action Directe, and the Move That Changed Climbing
In 1991, Wolfgang Güllich made the first ascent of Action Directe in Bavaria's Frankenjura — completing a route now recognised as the world's first 9a. The route is nine metres long, and it required Güllich to invent a new training tool specifically to build the finger and pulling power that a single explosive movement demanded. He died in a car accident less than a year later. The campus board is in every climbing gym in the world.
By ZealZag TeamTraining in Iten: What Kenya's Running Capital Is Actually Like for Visiting Athletes
At 2,400 metres on the edge of the Rift Valley, Iten has produced more world record holders and Olympic medalists per capita than almost any place on earth. Foreign runners have been visiting to train for decades, drawn by the altitude, the red dirt roads, and the daily presence of elite athletes at their best. Here is what the experience actually involves.
By ZealZag Team